The furnace and crucible are normally disposed in a pit and a casting machine moves laterally relative to the pit to position the mold over the crucible. The casting machine typically includes a vertically movable platen which opens and closes the mold for repetitive casting of metal parts. The casting machine is supported on a carriage for movement away from the crucible for changing molds or servicing the furnace, each mold comprising a lower drag and an upper cope. When the casting machine is positioned away from the crucible or over the crucible, the mold is loaded onto the movable platen with the drag and cope banded together. Thus, the drag is banded to the cope and is held thereto as the cope is attached to the movable platen. After the cope is secured to the movable platen, the movable platen is lowered to rest the drag upon a base plate of the machine. The banding is removed and the drag is secured to the base plate. The carriage includes a lift system for supporting the entire weight of the casting machine on the crucible for sealing the base plate to the crucible whereby the molten metal bath may be pressurized under the base plate. Thereafter the mold cavity defined by the drag and cope are opened and closed for repetitive casting of a series of parts.
It is very cumbersome to load an entire mold and attach it to the downwardly facing movable platen. The molds are large and very heavy, requiring the use of a fork lift truck, or the like, to move the mold into position for attachment to the movable platen. Due to the weight of the molds and the limited area within the casting machine, this loading process can be very cumbersome. In order to alleviate this difficult task, a prior art casting machine utilizes a tilt plate pivotally attached to the movable platen for movement through a limited 45.degree. angle between a horizontal operating position and a downwardly and forwardly slanted position for cleaning and loading the mold. The tilt plate remains within the casting machine and faces downwardly in the loading position thereby requiring the mold to be hoisted up an held against the tilt plate while being secured thereto. Therefore the loading of the mold remains a cumbersome and difficult task.